Fresh out of Barnard College with a degree in political science, Riley is learning the ropes as a writer and reporter for GZERO. When she isn’t writing about global politics, you can find her making GZERO’s crossword puzzles, conducting research on American politics, or persisting in her lifelong quest to learn French. Riley spends her time outside of work grilling, dancing, and wearing many hats (both literally and figuratively).
The movement is spreading to more countries on social media, aided by apps like Bilzamish and No Thank You that allow consumers to scan a product's barcode and learn to what extent the manufacturer “supports Israel.”
McDonald’s rose to the top of the blacklist after it donated thousands of free meals to the Israeli military. The fast-food giant said in February that the boycott was part of the reason international sales rose by just 0.7% during the fourth quarter of 2023, down from a 16.5% the year before. Unilever, which produces Dove soap and Ben & Jerry’s, said sales in Indonesia experienced a double-digit decrease because of “geopolitically focused, consumer-facing campaigns.”
The companies in question are not expected to lobby Washington to change its Israel policy, and they will likely weather the hits to their bottom lines until the movement, or the war, loses steam. But the movement shows how US support for Israel is damaging its reputation in parts of the Arab world.
